Amends
by silsecri
Summary: Post Proof of Purchase. Alec tries to make amends.


Title: Amends

Author: lyra (aka silsecri)

Rating: K+

Disclaimer: Anything you recognise doesn't belong to me.

Setting: After Proof of Purchase.

Summary: As the title says, Alec tries to make amends.

**AMENDS**  
by lyra

"I'm sorry, Max. For everything"

'_I've really fucked up this time.'_ Alec thought as he left the building with a clear destination in mind. He wasn't going to leave Seattle right away. He still owned Max 5,000 dollars and he was going to pay.

Alec reached Foggle Towers in no time and went up to the penthouse. Logan was at the computer, his focus so intent he didn't hear Alec until he spoke in a no-nonsense tone. "I want the name and location of one of those stupid 'bad guys' you seem so bent on catching. Now."

"What? What are you talking about? Where's Max?"

'_Of course, what else?'_ Alec didn't have time for this. Max would be here any minute and he really wasn't looking forward to see her any time soon. "I said now."

Logan didn't know what to do. For one, he didn't trust Alec. He had tried to kill him not so long ago. And then there was the little nagging in the back of his mind every time he saw him near Max. It wasn't that he didn't trust Max; of course, it was just that he had the feeling Max didn't feel so comfortable around Alec and he didn't know why. He didn't like it. Not one bit. And why would Alec want that information, anyway?

Alec interrupted Logan's inner babbling. "Look, pal, I don't have all night. Either you tell me now or I get it from your computer myself."

"What do you want it for?"

"None of your business." '_To get a clean break and get out of your lives.'_

"Are you gonna help me catch them or are you going to join them?"

'_Man, this guy is stupid.'_ "Step away."

"Okay, I'm telling you." He turned to his computer, opened a file and printed it. "I've been trying to nail this guy for a while but I didn't think Max could do it alone. Everything you need to know about them. Location, security-"

Alec took the paper from him and left the room while Logan was still talking.

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The warehouse on the docks was almost empty, just a few really bulky guards trying to appear casual leaning on the front side of the building and two more in the back door. It was an easy job. Alec went in from the roof. There were lots of boxes full of weapons on one side of the warehouse. There was a small office and inside Alec found a safe. He took all the money in it and he got out the same way he got in. The whole thing took less than five minutes. He was 50,000 dollars richer and he now had three new weapons to start his private collection. He was going to need it now that he was out in the real world with the government hunting him.

'_I have no idea why Logan thought Max couldn't do this. Of course, I'm sure he wasn't planning on robbing them but… He has no clue about us, about what we can do. We've been born and bred to do this stuff.'_

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Max had gone with Joshua to find Father's house and then spent the night there with him. When she stopped by Logan's the next morning he was waiting for her. There was an envelope on the table by his side.

"Hey."

"Hey yourself. I thought you'd come by last night," Logan said a little curtly. He had been waiting for her until three or four in the morning and after Alec's visit, from which Logan got no information whatsoever, he had been worried sick about her. Not to mention anxious to know about the cure.

"Yeah, about that... I'm sorry, Logan. Something happened..." Max trailed off, not wanting to tell him what happened.

"That something wouldn't have anything to do with Alec by any chance?" Logan asked narrowing his eyes.

"How do you know?

"Well, he came by last night. Left that for you." He pointed at the envelope and Max went to get it. "He didn't say much, actually. Just walked in, asked for information and left. Came back half an hour later and threw that on the table saying that it was for you. Didn't stay long." Logan was watching Max closely; this all looked really suspicious to him.

Max couldn't believe her eyes, she didn't need to count it to know there was more than five grand in there. "He didn't say anything? Where did he get this?"

"I wouldn't know. What is it?" Actually, Logan knew what it was. The envelope was open and curiosity had won over Max's right to privacy. But a stack of money didn't answer any questions for him, and he wanted to know if Max would tell him the truth.

"Money. A lot of money," Max whispered.

"Why would he give you money? Speaking of which, what happened last night?" Logan was about to explode and Max didn't look any closer to tell him now than when she first entered the room.

Max had almost forgotten about it but Logan's question brought it all up again. They had been so close and now... who knew when would they find Sandeman? It could take months or even years, after all he had been hiding from Manticore, or at least that's what she thought, and they hadn't found him so he must be good at hiding.

Logan could see there was something wrong with her. She seemed to be almost scared to tell him. Why would she be scared? "Max?"

"Yeah, right. See, it turns out all that shit about being concerned about exposure was just that, shit. I should have known, I mean, why would he be concerned about it? It's not as if he cares about anything, right? He only thinks about himself. How stupid do you have to be to let him catch you-"

"Max!" Logan interrupted her babbling.

"What?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm telling you what happened. You just asked me."

"Well, I must be missing something 'cos I have no clue what you're saying. What happened with the doctor?" Max looked at him like a deer caught in the headlights. "Max, what's wrong?"

"I couldn't let him die."

"The doctor?"

"No, Logan, I couldn't let Alec die."

"What does Alec have to do with this?"

Max told him everything that happened the night before. She couldn't even look Logan in the eyes. She felt horrible. Even with the slim hope Sandeman represented, her decision to save Alec felt like a death sentence for them.

"I guess it was the right thing to do." Logan knew she felt bad about it, and she needed his reassurance, she needed to hear that he was ok with it, but he couldn't muster enough conviction, he felt crushed. "You had to do it, Max. I understand."

"I'm sorry. I guess this is his payment."

"Well, then I do know where he got it. He came here asking for one of the 'bad guys', so probably he just stole it from them."

They stood there, just looking at each other.

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Alec felt the wind in his face as he drove north. He was leaving Seattle and everything he knew behind. He was leaving her. It was the right thing to do. Right?

Apparently not.

He hadn't even left the woods past the Manticore facility when he found himself in the middle of a chase. The chasers were X7s and the poor guy running away was... well he wasn't really sure about that, he was moving too fast.

Alec intended to keep on driving, he really did. But then the X7s caught up with it and he got a look at the runner. It was a panther-like guy like the one he killed in the sewers. Alec got a sudden flash of the bloodied barcode in his hands.

Stopping the car, he got out and hurried towards the unfair fight.

There were five X7s and they were using their tasers on the transgenic like ranchers used cattle prods to move their livestock. They cornered it against a group of trees and let loose on it. By the time Alec reached them, their target was already unconscious so they all turned and rounded on Alec.

It was a brutal fight. One Alec wouldn't have dreamt of fighting if the circumstances had been different. But guilt, shame and the need for redemption are great motivators. The clones were fierce and merciless, and the tasers flew everywhere. But they couldn't defeat an X5 in perfect condition, hyped on disgust and contempt for himself. Alec was flooded with unreleased tension to burn. And, let's face it; he loved a good ass kicking as much as the next guy.

Once the little guys were out Alec carried the transhuman to his car and drove into the woods.

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They had stopped in a little clear and Alec had climbed onto the highest tree trying to get a better view of their surroundings. By the time 'Bagheera' woke up an hour later, Alec was sitting on the driver's seat of the car, feet on the ground, listening to the radio and thinking. Its voice cut into his musings. "Who are you?"

Alec stepped off the car and approached it. "About time. You ok?"

"Who are you?" the transhuman insisted.

"One track mind, I see. X5-494. You?" Alec asked back.

"Basement Freak. What am I doing here?" he asked looking around trying to figure out where he was.

"Well, BF, you were having a bit of a problem with five nasty things, and blocking my way out of here, so I thought I'd give you a hand."

"You rescued me?!" The transhuman couldn't hide his disbelief.

"I cleared my way," Alec said stonily. He didn't want this guy to get false ideas.

"And why are you still here?"

"I don't know," Alec muttered.

"Anyway, thanks," the anomaly said, noticing how uncomfortable his questions were making 494. "I don't know why you did it but you gave me another chance of running. Not that it really makes a difference. There are quite a few of those crews around these woods. A lot of us sought refuge here. I mean, where else were we supposed to go? Not easy to blend in when you've got dark fur and a tail, is it?"

"Guess not. So are there many of you here?"

"Yeah, we try to keep a low profile. Some of them stay in small groups, lots of us decided to go alone. Escape and evade. We saw the signal to go to ground. Not that it made a difference; we saw the other one too. But we weren't in a hurry to go back to a cage, and something tells me that wasn't even an option this time."

"No, it wasn't. They were shooting on sight," Alec confirmed the transhuman's suspicions.

"Yeah, I figured. Anyway, the woods all around Seattle are crawling with transhumans and transgenics. There are a few of your kind around. But they won't stay long. In a few weeks they'll probably end up in a city with a nice life." There was a mixture of envy and resentment in his voice.

"Well, I don't know about the nice life, but you could go to the city too, if you want. There's a place in Seattle where you can hide. It's called Terminal City and there are a few of you there already. It's a toxic waste so there are no ordinaries there, unless you count homeless nuts, and you can be with others like you."

"Maybe I'll go there. Maybe not. For all I know you're sending me into a trap." Something dark clouded Alec's eyes, but the transhuman wasn't looking and he missed it. "So where are you going?"

"I'm not sure. I was just leaving. Canada, probably," Alec said shrugging.

"Yeah, well, thanks again. And good luck. I'm going now." He was almost to the edge of the forest when Alec's voice stopped him.

"Hey, wait. Were there a lot like you?" Alec asked looking everywhere but at the transhuman.

"You mean freaks?"

"No, not freaks. I mean like you, specifically. You know, dark fur and claws, lots of feline DNA."

"Oh! A whole unit. We were one of the most successful mixes. The speed, the strength, the reflexes... We were your predecessors, actually. They wanted soldiers as good as us but capable of going out in the daylight and blending in with the ordinaries."

Alec felt relieved to hear that. He wasn't aware of it but he'd been dreading the possibility that he had killed the only other panther guy and he had left this guy alone for the rest of his life. This bit of news didn't make it ok, but he felt a little less bad.

"Maybe I'll see you around, 494."

"It's Alec, actually." Alec chuckled to himself while he added "You should have a name too."

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After "Bagheera" had left, Alec had sat down on the floor again and tried to find some direction for his life. What was he supposed to do now? He could get in his car and drive to Canada, forget the rest of his 'people' and try and make a life for himself just as Max had done.

Or he could stay around for a while and help the rest of the transgenics and transhumans hiding in the woods. Alec found himself planning strategies and escape routes and all those things Manticore trained him to do when in a battle situation.

'_Why am I doing this?'_ Alec asked himself.

But he knew why. Helping "Bagheera" had helped him in a way, too. And maybe helping more of them could redeem his acts. Perhaps it was just wishful thinking, but Alec held onto the possibility, because right now he was in a bad place and he desperately wanted out.

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Three weeks later...

Max let herself in, as usual. Things had returned to normal as much as they could. But there was an air of defeat around them that made these visits a lot less enjoyable for both of them.

"You paged?" she asked from behind, startling Logan.

"Max! Yeah, I did. Thanks for coming by."

Logan managed the ghost of a smile and Max felt the guilt hit her like a punch. She couldn't help thinking of the time when his smile felt like he was physically tickling her skin, a mixture of pleasure and excitement. Now everything was awkward and uncomfortable. They could barely look each other in the eyes.

"Sure. You got something for me?" Max said staying at the door. She hadn't come closer to him since the debacle with the cure.

"Yeah. The last couple of weeks there's been an increase in the sightings of transhumans. The scanner has been going off every day with calls about big dogs, panthers, freaks... the first week the cops thought nothing of it, just crazy people or drunks, but they're paying more attention now."

"Is there a pattern or anything I can use?" Max leaned on the wall behind her trying to make it look natural, but every single movement she made now while in his house was calculated, keeping her hands to herself, and only touching things with cloth-covered body parts.

"They know how to hide, Max, they're Manticore. And they're supposed to go to ground now, so they won't be an easy catch for the cops. But maybe you can find them."

"Ok, I'll take a ride tonight, see what I can find. Thanks, Logan," she said and left in a rush, hearing his answer through the already closed door.

"Anytime," Logan whispered.

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Max had been riding through the city for the last three hours and still nothing. She was grateful she didn't need to sleep because it seemed she was going to have to spend a few nights like this one.

She was riding in circles around the city, from the outskirts of Seattle to the centre of the city, trying to find a nomalie. Any nomalie. She thought they were probably coming to seek refuge in the city after having been hiding in the woods outside Manticore. It was the most logical explanation. She worried she was going to find some kind of freak community, which wouldn't help them keep a low profile.

'_But Joshua would love it.'_ The Big Fella had been a little bit sad lately, he felt lonely all day in Sandeman's house, and she couldn't abandon her life to keep him company. She spent lots of her free time there and she sometimes took Cindy with her, but still, she had a life and Joshua only got to see his passing him by through the window.

She had gotten distracted by her thoughts and she almost missed the figure blurring in the back of the alley. She stopped the Ninja and turned around.

Parking the bike in the entrance of the little alley, she hopped off and walked very slowly in the direction she had seen the figure.

The alley seemed deserted but Max could read the shadows. The figure was standing still half way towards the back. It was a dead end. Max took two steps closer and she saw the shadows shift. The figure mirrored her, step by step. Every step forward from Max was met with a step backwards from the other person. Max felt like she was dancing in front of a mirror.

Finally, Max realized whoever it was wouldn't let her get any closer. It was time to change tactics.

"I'm X5-452. You can came out," Max said in a soft tone, trying to infuse a safe vibe in the air.

A blonde girl with small pearl scales instead of skin stepped into the light. She had snake-like eyes and a cold look. She observed Max carefully, making mental notes and comparing her with her intel. '_He's right, she is a beauty. I can see why he's so smitten. I can't believe he tried to convince me otherwise. I could tell just by hearing him talk about her.'_ The girl advanced towards Max with a smile on her face. '_Might as well make friends with her, they're both gonna need a go-between when he gets here.'_

While they were approaching each other Max was studying the girl carefully.

'_Manticore sure had fun with us. She must have snake DNA, strange as it sounds those scales give her an almost divine air, like a beautiful statue of a goddess.'_

Then the girl spoke. "He said I might run into you."

"What?" Max asked surprised. She wasn't expecting that. What was she talking about?

"There was something you needed?" she interrupted Max's thoughts again in a sweet tone, like a well trained receptionist.

"Well, I've heard there's a bit of an overbooking around here and I thought I might offer my help." Max couldn't help herself. This girl reminded her of herself a little bit too much.

"I'm set, thanks for the offer," she declined politely, her eyes shining with mirth.

"Actually, I was hoping you could tell me where exactly are you heading?" Max tried again.

It was as good a moment as any to let her know. "I'm on my way to Terminal City. We've been regrouping there."

"Regrouping? That sounds kind of organized to me. Mind if I join you? I could give you a ride."

"Why not?"

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The ride had been short and quiet. The girl hadn't said anything and she didn't seem inclined to answer Max's questions.

"We're supposed to look for the north entry, next to the sewer system."

"You have direct instructions?"

"Of course. What kind of CO doesn't give you exact directions when he's getting you to a safe place?" They were already at the entrance. They crossed the fence and found themselves with an X5. "Hey, Biggs, I made it."

"And I see you brought someone with you," Biggs said eying Max.

"She found me fifteen blocks north from here, I thought it was time to let her in," she said shrugging.

"He's gonna be pissed. He warned you for a reason."

Max had had enough. She had forgotten about the first comment the girl had made, but now they were talking about 'him' again. '_Who the hell is him?'_

"Who are you talking about? Who's gonna be pissed and why can't I know about this, whatever this is?" Max hadn't even thought about it, but for all she knew they could be talking about that government guy hunting them.

"Well, she might as well come inside. We have quarters for you ready; you can tell her everything you want there. Just don't get me into trouble with Alec, ok, Pearl?" Biggs said as he started walking away.

Max's head snapped at that. She opened her mouth to ask, but Biggs was already ten steps ahead talking with Pearl. Max followed them in a daze. She would have never imagined he would be behind this. Max thought he would be half way across the country by now, but apparently Alec wasn't that easy to get ride of. '_Not that you want that.'_

She'd had time to think about that night during the last weeks. Max had come to terms with what happened and had realized it hadn't exactly been his fault she had lost the cure. He hadn't asked for that bomb on his head, and he had chosen to die rather than kill her. She felt a little guilty for sending him away like she had. Max knew she tended to act without thinking, and she regretted her actions of that night.

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Max and Pearl were sitting in a worn couch in her apartment. They were alone now and Max had lots of questions but Pearl didn't let her ask them, she started talking on her own.

"I'd been in the woods since Manticore burned down, hiding from the X7s in charge of hunting us. Believe me it was no fun. I'd had three close calls already and I was thinking of moving out when I met up with Alec. He's set a small headquarters in an old abandoned cabin and he was helping us escape the guards and the government. He has organized a safe passage for us to reach Terminal City where 'we can be safe', his words."

At this point Pearl had Max's undivided attention. That was something she could never have imagined. Alec helping the freaks. '_I don't really know him. I don't know why I'm such a bitch to him.'_ But she did know. It was seeing Ben's face on the body of a stranger; a face so helpless the last time she'd seen him. But that had nothing to do with Alec.

Pearl had gone on with her explanation. "He hooked up with Biggs some time before and Alec has him as a link with TC. Alec finds us and gets us to the cabin and sends us here. Biggs is the one running things here, he gets supplies and keeps an eye on everyone."

"What did he mean Alec had warned you about me?"

"Alec said if we were going to stay in Seattle we might run into you. He said something like 'Seattle is Max's turf, don't mess with her. Trust me, once you've stepped on her toes, life as you know it is over.' I think you scared him." Pearl laughed.

"Where is this cabin?" Max asked trying to sound casual and failing miserably.

"Why? You planning on dropping on him by surprise?" Pearl couldn't hide her amusement if she tried. And she didn't.

"I have something to clear up with him. We got off to a really bad start and everything went downhill from there." Max looked down, a little embarrassed.

"Well, you're lucky then. He'll be getting here soon. He's spread the rumor about TC over the woods the last three weeks and his presence there is not necessary now. Alec will probably take over Biggs' job here. He doesn't really want to be in charge but he wants to make sure we're all okay so…" Pearl looked at Max and shrugged. "I got the feeling he was trying to make amends for something but he wouldn't talk about it."

Max wasn't going to tell.

"Most of us have things to make amends for, he's not alone there," Pearl sighed.

'_Maybe we can make amends together,'_ Max thought, a flash of Ben's face going through her mind.

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Alec was driving his car headed south. It was as if he had been going in circles ever since he had met Max. First from Manticore to Seattle following her and then back to Manticore, back home. But she had made sure home wouldn't be there for him to go back to. So he had stayed close, in a rundown village with little more than a hotel and a small store, while he decided what to do with his new found free life. And of course a new encounter with Max had put him back on the road.

And instead of going far away he had gone back to Seattle to make some money, and we all know how well that had gone. And again Max had sent him away, going north to Manticore and past. Or that was the idea.

But after spending three weeks in the woods it was time to make another turn and head back to Seattle. To stay. At least for now.

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Thank you for reading. I'd love to know what you think.


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